In 1956, IBM broke ground on a 190-acre parcel of land that would become their award-winning Cottle Road campus. The main plant facility, consisted of five connected buildings, constructed using steel, concrete, and glass. The buildings were accented with brick and multi-colored tiles – the tile pattern said to mimic an IBM punch card.

In an effort to create a pleasant working environment for IBM employees (a novel concept at the time), architect John Savage Bolles collaborated with landscape architect Douglas Baylis to incorporate gardens, patios, and reflection ponds into the plant’s overall design. The campus was further enhanced by a collection of modern art including sculptures by Bay Area artists Bob Howard and Gurdon Woods.

The central core of the former IBM campus is now vacant, behind chain link fence. Several former IBM buildings are currently in use by Hitachi. Former property of IBM Research building (Building #25) was used for the construction of a Lowe’s home improvement store in 2008, following a suspicious fire.

Hitachi buildings have been well-maintained and remain adorned in their original tile.

Once voted “One of America’s 10 most beautiful plants,” the IBM Cottle Road campus was the recipient of numerous awards. The site was visited by Nikita Khrushchev in 1959 as an example of a “typical American plant in action.” It is also where the flying head disk drive was invented.

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